Focused Fishing Web Log

Kimberling City Area: We really need some cold weather to get the fish in a more predictable pattern. The best bite has been during low light hours on a combination of baits; if you see shad near the surface top water baits like spooks and sammys have been effective, if the shad are down in the water column switch up to a Chompers 4” single tail grub in green pumpkin or watermelon. The deep bite has been inconsistent at best, if you can find schools of shad near the trees on channel swing banks use Chompers’ drop shot worms, finding bait close by a tree is critical. Smallmouth are being caught on Jewel 5/8 and ¾ oz. football jigs in green pumpkin candy flash and PB&J with green pumpkin Hyperflex grubs from 15’ – 30’ deep on pea gravel and mixed rock points. Large community docks are producing fish on Eakins jigs in PB&J or brown / purple flash with a green pumpkin Eakins Craw trailer.

James River: The best bite up the river has been on an Eakins’ jig in brown / purple flash or Missouri craw with a green pumpkin Eakins Craw trailer around large boat docks and on channel swing banks, look for large rock to hold more fish than brush right now. On windy days Chompers’ Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits are working well, look for isolated rock or wood cover on chunk and mixed rock banks to be the most productive areas. Jewel Football Jigs are working well on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points near deep water look for most of the fish to be 12’ – 25’ deep near rock piles.

White River: Chompers Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s Spoons have been very effective in deep tree tops from 35’ – 75’ deep, just like in the mid lake area finding bait close to the cover is key to this pattern. Pea gravel and mixed ledge rock and gravel points near deep water have producing a nice mixed bag of small mouth and spots on Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs , PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash have been the best colors both matched up with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub key on the 15’ – 30’ depth range. Windy days are still producing good fish around cedar trees on Chompers’ Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits. Run the bait about a foot under the surface and pause it for a second or two next to the tree to draw strikes.

Dam / Branson Area: Much like the rest of the lake windy days mean throwing a combination of Chompers Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits and 4” single tail grubs on channel swing banks with isolated cover for the spinner bait and wind blown pea gravel flats and points produce with the grub. The deep bite is totally shad related if you find shad around tree tops or on drops use Chompers Drop Shot Worms from 35’ – 65’ deep have been effective. Jewel Football and Pro Spider jigs in PB&J or Watermelon Candy with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub fished slowly over pea gravel and mixed rock and gravel points from 20’ – 40’ deep has been productive as well.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: Bait fish are anywhere from the bank out to 80 feet deep right now and it is making it tough to pattern the fish. Early and late topwaters can be the ticket if fish have the bait up near the surface. Through out the day Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs have been producing on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points and flats from 15’ – 40’ deep isolated rock and brush hold most of the fish so work these areas thoroughly. The deep bite has been hit or miss, if you find the shad you will be successful fishing bluff end and drops or roll offs with Chompers’ Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s spoons locate the bait and work around the bait to be successful.

Lead Hill to Power site: The water is a little cooler on the upper end of the lake and it has the fish closer to their normal fall pattern. Chompers’ Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits and Lucky Craft RC 1.5 crankbaits have been effective around big rocks on channel swing banks on the main lake and in the backs of larger creeks. Eakins’ Jigs in brown / purple flash or PB&J matched with a green pumpkin Eakins Craw have been very effective around docks and big rocks toward the middle and back of creeks; look for shad to target the right areas. Covering water is important right now, the fish are still scattered and will remain so until the cold weather drops the lake temperature a few degrees, with that in mind Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs matched with Hyperflex Grubs are great baits to cover points and flat effectively. Look for pea gravel and mixed gravel and rock points to hold most of the fish and pay close attention to any rock or brush piles you find.

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Best fly patterns: Still several big Brown Trout being caught as well as a good number of big Rainbows. Most of the action is coming on a small number of flies; pink and red egg patterns have been very good, olive and brown scuds, and olive g-bugs have been the ticket.

Best spinning tackle: The spinning rod bite hasn’t changed better fish are coming on #7 Rapala minnows in silver and rainbow patterns, numbers are coming on small white and white / pink Zig Jigs or Rooster tails. Around the docks Berkley Gulp Eggs in red or pink have been the top bait.

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Kimberling City Area: This can be one of the most frustrating times of year. With the Thermocline pretty much gone and oxygen levels consistent throughout the water column fish can be in just about any depth. The key to finding and catching fish is finding shad right now, large schools of shad are holding more fish than small ones, look for ambush areas to hold more fish as well. Chompers’ drop shot worms fished in tree tops on bluff ends and channel swing banks continue to produce, finding bait close by a tree is critical. Jewel 5/8 and ¾ oz. football jigs in green pumpkin candy flash and PB&J with green pumpkin Hyperflex grubs are working as well from 15’ – 30’ deep on pea gravel and mixed rock points. Eakins jigs have also been producing around boat docks, look for large community or commercial docks on points to be the most productive.

James River: The river bite continues to be strong, a number of fish are being caught shallow and the water is a little cooler in the upper reaches. Chompers’ Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits continue to perform very well on windy days, look for isolated rock or wood cover on chunk and mixed rock banks to be the most productive areas. On calm days an Eakins’ jig in brown / purple flash or Missouri craw with a green pumpkin Eakins Craw trailer is effective in these same areas. Closer to the confluence with the White River Jewel Football Jigs is your best pattern; look for pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points near deep water to be the most effective areas. Most of the bites are coming from 12’ – 25’ deep particularly when the bait comes over a rock or piece of wood.

White River: The White River is still holding on as the most productive area of the lake; a number of patterns can be successful depending on the location of the baitfish. Chompers Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s Spoons have been very effective in deep tree tops from 35’ – 75’ deep, locate the bait in and around the tree and fish will be close by. Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs have been very effective from 12’ – 30’ deep on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points, PB&J or green pumpkin / green flash have been the best colors both matched up with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub. Lastly, Chompers’ Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits have been awesome on windy / cloudy days; look for isolated cedar trees on steeper banks to be holding some better fish. Run the bait about a foot under the surface and pause it for a second or two next to the tree to draw strikes.

Dam / Branson Area: The dam area continues to produce mixed bags of Kentuckies and Smallmouth on a variety of baits. On windy days Chompers Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbaits and 4” single tail grubs have been very effective. Much like the rest of the lake the spinnerbait bite has been best on channel swing banks with isolated cover while the grub bite has been best on wind blown pea gravel flats and points. Several fish continue to come out of deep trees where shad are present, Chompers Drop Shot Worms fished from 35’ – 65’ deep have been effective. Finally, Jewel Football and Pro Spider jigs in PB&J or Watermelon Candy with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub have been working well on pea gravel and mixed gravel and rock points from 15’ – 35’ deep.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: With the Thermocline pretty well broken up, both bait and fish are scattered throughout the water column. Finding the bait on the lower end of the lake is key to being successful. Fish can be caught both shallow and deep and your best bet is to cover a lot of water with either pattern. Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs have been producing on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points and flats from 15’ – 40’ deep. Look for isolated rock and brush to hold multiple fish but covering water is your best bet to put together a limit. Deep fish can be caught on bluff ends and channel swing banks on the main lake and in larger creek arms. Look for schools of bait to clue you into the best areas to fish and use Chompers’ Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s spoons to draw strikes.

Lead Hill to Power site: The upper end of the lake improved this past week, while the water isn’t cold by any stretch, the temperature is dropping and fish are getting a little more active. Just like on the lower end finding bait is key. On windy / cloudy days a Chompers’ Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbait is very effective around big rocks on channel swing banks both on the main lake and in the larger creeks. These same areas will produce on calm days with an Eakins’ Jig in brown / purple flash or PB&J matched with an Eakins Craw. Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs complete the picture with several fish being caught this past week on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points near deep water. Just like on the lower end of the lake it is important to cover water right now as the fish are scattered.

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Best fly patterns: More and more big Brown Trout caught this week, it is impressive to see the number of fish Taneycomo has produced. Best fly patterns have been; scuds and soft shell scuds in ginger, plum or grey, red eggs have started to produce as have smaller sculpins.

Best spinning tackle: Things haven’t changed much over the past week; silver and rainbow Rapalas continue to be the choice for browns and big rainbows. Still a lot of fish being caught of the docks on Gulp and live crawlers.

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Kimberling City Area: What a difference a couple of weeks make. The thermocline has dropped down to 65’ deep and fish are being caught from the bank out to 70’. Several patterns are working right now and the bite changes everyday; the most consistent bite remains deep, Chompers Drop Shot worms in and around the thermocline has been the best bet, look for trees that top out at 50 – 60 feet deep to be holding most of the fish. The next best pattern as been a Jewel ¾ oz. football jig in PB&J or green pumpkin / candy flash both matched up with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub. Work the jig slowly along the bottom from 10’ – 30’ deep on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points.

James River: Up the river the bite has been much shallower than on the main lake. Look for fish to be in 6’ – 20’ of water holding close to wood and rock cover on both points and channel swing banks. On windy days a spinnerbait has been unbelievable, Chompers Jerry McCutchen spinnerbaits fished close to wood and rock in all depths has been very effective, pause the for a second next to the cover and allow the skirt to flare. Most of the strikes will come when the bait is stopped. On calm days pitching an Eakins Jig and Craw combo around wood and rock cover or docks has been productive. There is a little more color in the water and Missouri Craw has been the best color when matched with a green pumpkin craw.

White River: The White River continues to be the most productive arm of the lake. You can fish just about any way you want to up the White; deep fishing, flipping cover, dragging football jigs and even crankbaits and spinnerbaits will result in fish up the White. Much like the mid-lake most of the deep fish up the White River are hanging close to the thermocline and are ambushing shad when they swim by, look for trees that top out between 50’ – 60’ deep and work Chompers Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s Spoons in the limbs of the trees. Plenty of fish being caught shallow as well look for shallow cover from 6’ – 20’ deep and pitch Eakins Jigs or Chompers Super Sinkers to the cover, make multiple pitches to each piece of cover to insure you drop the bait in front of the fish. These same areas will produce on Chompers Jerry McCutchen spinnerbaits or Lucky Craft RC 1.5 crankbaits. Finally, several fish have been coming off of pea gravel and mixed rock / gravel points with Jewel ¾oz or 1 oz. football jigs in brown / purple flash and PB&J matched with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub.

Dam / Branson Area: The dam area has been pretty good this past week as well; the deep bite is still the most consistent pattern but big smallmouth have been showing up with regularity. Chompers Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s Spoons have been working around the thermocline at 60’ deep; look for tree tops near the thermocline to be holding most of the fish. A combination of Jewel Football and Pro Spider Jigs has been producing smallmouth on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points. Work either bait slowly along the bottom from 10’ – 30’, on some days the fish prefer the smaller profile of the Pro Spider jig and on other days they want a bulky football jig, try one and if you are not getting bit switch up. Best colors have been green pumpkin / candy flash and PB&J both matched with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub.

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Dam area to Lead Hill: Fish are being caught from the bank out to 70’ deep on the lower end of the lake. The most consistent pattern has been deep fishing with Chompers Drop Shot Worms and Bink’s Spoons. Look for most of the fish to be holding close to the shad at the thermocline around 60’ deep, as the sun comes up the shad will lift in the water column and the fish will follow. Best spots to look are bluff ends and channel banks on the main lake and in the bigger creek arms. The shallow bite has been hit or miss but most of the fish are coming on Jewel Football and Pro Spider jigs in PB&J or watermelon candy matched with a green pumpkin Hyperflex grub. Fish main lake and secondary points in bigger creeks from 12’ – 35’ deep paying close attention to any rock or brush piles you run the jig into.

Lead Hill to Power site: The upper end of the lake has been a little tougher this past week. Still several fish being caught but the quality isn’t as good as it was a week or so ago. The best bite has been out deeper, 15’ – 30’ deep on pea gravel and mixed gravel / rock points with Jewel 5/8 oz and ¾ oz. football jigs and Hyperflex Grubs. Work the jig along the bottom hopping it occasionally to draw strikes, brown / purple flash and peanut butter smoke have been the best colors with a green pumpkin grub. On windy days a Chompers Jerry McCutchen Spinnerbait worked parallel to channel swing banks has been very effective. Run the bait about a foot below the surface and pause it for a second or two next to any wood or rock cover on the bank.

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Best fly patterns: Lots of big brown trout showing up this past week, most are being caught sight casting on size #14 - #16 scuds, bit scuds and G-bugs in grey, olive, plum and ginger a few fish coming on egg patterns in purple or red. There is a lot of traffic on the water during the weekend and at night so be courteous of other anglers.

Best spinning tackle: The hottest action has been with # 5 and #7 Rapala minnows in silver / black or rainbow trout patterns. Brown trout have been the story for most anglers but there are still good numbers of rainbows being caught down by the trout docks.

Don’t Miss Tournament Fishing Radio on ESPN 1400 AM Springfield
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